Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Zaandam and Phuket

For one person, living is cheaper in Phuket: $1,207 a month against $1,349 in Zaandam, rent and utilities included – about $1,700 less a year. The total is higher in Zaandam despite lower rent and utilities.

66

Cost of Living Index in Zaandam
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Zaandam Living Index
59

Cost of Living Index in Phuket
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Phuket Living Index

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Zaandam

🇳🇱 Netherlands

$1,349

/mo nomad

Phuket

🇹🇭 Thailand

$1,207

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Zaandam and in Phuket

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Zaandam and in Phuket actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,349 in Zaandam versus $1,207 in Phuket.

Zaandam $1,349
Phuket $1,207

Estimated couple costs with rent: $3,435 in Zaandam versus $2,037 in Phuket.

Zaandam $3,435
Phuket $2,037

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $5,520 in Zaandam versus $2,867 in Phuket.

Zaandam $5,520
Phuket $2,867

Living in Zaandam is roughly 12% more expensive than in Phuket, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Zaandam is 0% above, Phuket is 11% below.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$22.15 €19.70

$4.58 ฿153

383.62%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$81.3 €72.3

$32.48 ฿1,086

150.37%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$13.34 €11.87

$8.55 ฿286

56.02%

Cappuccino

$4.15 €3.69

$2.72 ฿91.0

52.57%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.71 €3.30

$0.94 ฿31.25

294.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.28 €2.92

$0.49 ฿16.39

569.39%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$5.74 €5.10

$2.59 ฿86.6

121.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$5.22 €4.64

$3.83 ฿128

36.29%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.29 €1.15

$1.74 ฿58.1

-25.86%

White Bread (500g)

$2.79 €2.48

$1.43 ฿47.82

95.10%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.73 €2.43

$1.53 ฿51.0

78.43%

Eggs

$4.72 €4.20

$2.17 ฿72.7

117.51%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$13.49 €12.00

$19.15 ฿640

-29.56%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$12.55 €11.17

$3.30 ฿110

280.30%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$16.72 €14.87

$11.14 ฿372

50.09%

Apples (1kg)

$2.69 €2.39

$2.95 ฿98.5

-8.81%

Banana (1kg)

$2.35 €2.09

$1.68 ฿56.1

39.88%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.81 €1.61

$2.30 ฿76.8

-21.30%

Tomato (1kg)

$4.22 €3.76

$2.13 ฿71.3

98.12%

Potato (1kg)

$1.88 €1.67

$1.53 ฿51.1

22.88%

Onion (1kg)

$2.27 €2.02

$1.36 ฿45.55

66.91%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.23 €1.09

$1.12 ฿37.44

9.82%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.04 €0.93

$0.55 ฿18.24

89.09%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$13.75 €12.23

$4.26 ฿142

222.77%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.97 €6.20

$18.19 ฿608

-61.68%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.50 €1.34

$1.74 ฿58.2

-13.79%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.45 €2.18

$2.79 ฿93.3

-12.19%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$3.53 €3.14

$2.22 ฿74.1

59.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$85.1 €75.7

$22.06 ฿737

285.63%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$6.48 €5.76

$2.91 ฿97.3

122.68%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.29 €2.04

$1.01 ฿33.79

126.73%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$25.63 €22.80

$3.83 ฿128

569.19%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$2.42 €2.15

$1.49 ฿49.85

62.42%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$40.6K €36.1K

$26.7K ฿891.6K

52.30%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$37.9K €33.7K

$26.7K ฿892.7K

41.75%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$260 €231

$99.4 ฿3,321

161.69%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$24.17 €21.50

$11.28 ฿377

114.27%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$55.6 €49.42

$17.36 ฿580

220.05%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$45.37 €40.36

$52.3 ฿1,747

-13.23%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$27.91 €24.83

$10.85 ฿362

157.24%

Cinema Ticket

$15.92 €14.16

$7.57 ฿253

110.30%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$2,490 €2,215

$558 ฿18.7K

346.00%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,701 €5,960

$11.5K ฿383.9K

-41.67%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$84.8 €75.4

$62.9 ฿2,102

34.78%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$40.40 €35.94

$28.58 ฿955

41.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$98.5 €87.6

$96.1 ฿3,213

2.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$103 €91.2

$88.1 ฿2,943

16.49%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,356 €1,206

$729 ฿24.4K

85.91%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$460 ฿15.4K

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,659 €1,475

$2,096 ฿70.0K

-20.87%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$2,536 €2,256

$1,222 ฿40.8K

107.51%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$5,319 €4,731

$3,459 ฿115.6K

53.77%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$4,264 €3,793

$2,489 ฿83.2K

71.31%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$4,657 €4,143

$493 ฿16.5K

844.62%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.8

5.57

-31.78%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Zaandam: October 12, 2026

Last update for Phuket: October 13, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Zaandam

$340 25.2%

Phuket

$128 10.6% 62.3% $212

Eating Out

Zaandam

$334 24.8%

Phuket

$121 10.1% 63.7% $213

Groceries & Markets

Zaandam

$334 24.8%

Phuket

$268 22.2% 19.9% $66

Clothing & Footwear

Zaandam

$147 10.9%

Phuket

$124 10.3% 15.5% $23

Getting Around

Zaandam

$117 8.7%

Phuket

$39 3.2% 66.8% $78

Sport & Entertainment

Zaandam

$77 5.7%

Phuket

$67 5.6% 12.7% $9.8

Accommodation & Living

Zaandam

- * 0%

Phuket

$460 38.1%

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $1,356 in Zaandam and $729 in Phuket. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Zaandam pays 845% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $81.0 in Zaandam vs $32.00 in Phuket for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $334 vs $268 per month, with Phuket cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇳🇱 Zaandam

🇹🇭 Phuket

🕒 Local time

01:24 1:24 AM

06:24 6:24 AM

5 h ahead of Zaandam

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

76,804

79,308

💱 Currency

Euro EUR €

Thai Baht THB ฿

📈 Exchange rate

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

100 THB = 2.99 USD

100 THB = 2.66 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Zaandam Phuket 9,550 km ≈ 12 h nonstop flight

From you

Zaandam
Phuket

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Zaandam vs Phuket: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Phuket is cheaper overall, especially in eating out, groceries, and clothing. The 12% gap adds up to real monthly savings that compound significantly over time.

Average pay runs 845% higher in Zaandam, which matters when comparing affordability. Whether that higher income actually nets you more depends on your spending habits and housing choices.

Rent for a central apartment: $1,356 in Zaandam versus $729 in Phuket. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $2,490 in Zaandam versus $558 in Phuket. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 25% higher in Zaandam. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $1,207 in Phuket versus $1,349 in Zaandam, a $1,500 budget is realistic in Phuket but tight or insufficient in Zaandam. The gap between the two cities makes Phuket the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

For families, Phuket is more practical. Housing and childcare are both notably cheaper than in Zaandam, and the savings on those two alone free up budget for education, activities, and family trips.

Safety-wise, Zaandam and Phuket are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Phuket gentler on the wallet – expenses run 12% less than in Zaandam. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.